SVPN E-News

William Mitchell College of Law will host a conference examining Minnesota’s civil commitment of sex offenders from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Thursday, Jan. 19. The Conference is co-sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

The conference, “Sex Offender Civil Commitment in Minnesota: Challenges and Opportunities,” will include presentations and panel discussions on:

* The legal context: Are there potential legal challenges to the state’s sex offender commitment program; how can the challenges be ameliorated?* Identifying more specific and uniform legal standards for judging risk at the commitment stage, as well as at the discharge stage, of the proceedings.* Examining the absence of a full continuum of service and supervision resources other than high-cost secure facility placements for civilly committed sex offenders.* Case studies on the experiences of other states (New York, Texas, Wisconsin).

Speakers and facilitators include some of the nation’s top thought-leaders on the use of civil commitment for sex offenders, including:

* Eric S. Janus, president and dean of William Mitchell College of Law and author of “Failure to Protect,” which explores sexual predator laws from three perspectives: public safety, civil liberties, and effective government* Lucinda Jesson, commissioner of Human Services for the State of Minnesota* Deborah McCulloch, director of the Wisconsin Sexually Violent Person Program* Naomi J. Freeman, director of the New York State Bureau of Sex Offender Evaluation and Treatment Division of Forensic Service NYS Office of Mental Health* Noel C. Thomas, treatment coordinator with the New York State Bureau of Sex Offender Evaluation and Treatment* Shelia M. Brandt, a clinical psychologist and the legislative and stakeholder relations director for the Minnesota Sex Offender Program.

Did you know? > On average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States. This equals more than 12 million people per year. > 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the U.S. have been raped in their life. > 1 in 6 women and 1 in 19 men in the U.S. have experienced stalking in their life.

Sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence place a heavy toll on Americans, particularly women. What is CDC doing to prevent these forms of violence?

On December 14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) 2010 Summary Report. One of CDC’s newest public health surveillance systems, NISVS is designed to better describe and monitor the magnitude of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization in the United States. It is the first survey of its kind to provide simultaneous national and state-level prevalence estimates of violence for all states.

The findings in this report underscore the importance of prevention efforts. NISVS provides data that can help inform policies and programs aimed at the specific needs of state and national organizations and also a way to monitor and measure these efforts.

Answers to questions about recent child sexual abuse cases

By the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers

In the wake of recent high-profile sexual abuse cases, people are struggling to make sense of these situations and reconcile the allegations with their previously-held views of particular people, institutions, and the nature of child sexual abuse. Many adult victims of child sexual abuse are coming forward to share their stories, and people are asking questions about sexual violence. Many others are experiencing some degree of disbelief, anger, confusion, and grief; this type of trauma mirrors the feelings many sexual assault survivors experience - more evidence of the wide-ranging impact and harm caused by sexual abuse.

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) and the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) work closely together and share similar missions – to prevent all forms of sexual violence. NSVRC understands the impact on victims and their families; and the roles that organizations and communities can play in prevention; and ATSA understands the factors that may lead to the perpetration of sex offenses and the most effective methods of treatment and management for offenders. Both of these perspectives are critical in fully understanding sexual violence and its prevention. Recently, both organizations have fielded calls from media and others seeking insight into the complex dynamics of these alleged crimes. Some questions being asked include:

How could this happen? Sexual violence thrives in silence, and it’s much more common than people think. Professionals on both ends -- who work with victims and people who sexually abuse -- are not surprised by many of the stories and dynamics in recent reports. They hear similar stories every day. What stands out in some of the recent high-profile cases is that there may have been witnesses to some of these alleged crimes; the seemingly large number of adults who may have known about them; and the way these particular stories have captured the public’s attention.

If this intense spotlight causes us to prioritize the well-being of our children; strengthen the services available to victims and their families; seriously examine the priorities and practices of our institutions; create thoughtful and effective laws to promote public safety; and commit to being engaged and responsible bystanders, then perhaps something good may develop as a result. Continue reading... http://www.nsvrc.org/news/9215

Resources from Arc Greater Twin Cities

People with disabilities are at far greater risk for abuse than people without disabilities and most abuse is unreported. The Arc Greater Twin Cities has made abuse prevention a priority and is working closely with the Ramsey County Sexual Assault Committee, Carver County Sexual Assault Interagency Committee and Hennepin County SMART team to make sure the needs of people with disabilities are served.

Demand the Change

MNCASA’s Demand the Change Blog is a tool to help mobilize for prevention and to move us from awareness to action. It is a way to help bring meaning to the world we live in and to examine the messages that surround us.

Whether we like it or not, these messages frame our perceptions of reality in terms of what’s helpful and what’s harmful. In the spirit of prevention and social change, this blog is about creating dialogue and ideas for action so that each of us can begin to demand the change. Link to: http://demandthechange.wordpress.com/

Commentary: Heading home for the holidays, young people may carry an awful secret

CommentaryHeading home for the holidays, young people may carry an awful secretby Nancy Donoval December 21, 2011

Nancy Donoval is a speaker, storyteller and sexual violence educator living in Minneapolis. She is a source in MPR News' Public Insight Network.

As college students head home for winter break I can't help but think of the secrets some of them will be packing along with laundry ready to be washed. And the decisions about whether to tell parents, siblings and friends at home about the darkness they are carrying and what happened to cause it.

I remember a holiday trip home when I was a freshman. It was for Easter, not Christmas, but the big family get-together meal was the same. I've seen pictures of me on that day and it's astounding that no one in my family noticed anything was wrong. Well, somebody did. One of my brothers had just gotten engaged. It had happened pretty fast; I'd only met her a few times. Tammy pulled me into a room away from everyone else. "Are you OK?" she asked. Continue reading: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/12/21/donoval/

Funding Opportunities

* VAWnet features sources of government and private funding that are available to support projects or organizations working to end violence against women, or to provide opportunities for individual survivors. Government funding resources includes information on the 26 United States Federal grant-making agencies, portals to federal, local, and state government funding resources, and opportunities from the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and the Department Centers for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Private funding resources include grants, scholarships, fellowships and/or awards for individual women available from foundations, charities and private trusts. http://www.vawnet.org/grants-funding/funding-opportunities.php

* Grants.gov is a source to FIND and APPLY for federal grants. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proud to be the managing partner for Grants.gov, an initiative that is having an unparalleled impact on the grant community. Learn more about Grants.gov and determine if you are eligible for grant opportunities offered on this site. www.grants.gov

* NSVRC - Opportunities. This section provides information about funding (and volunteer, job and educational opportunities, as well as award nominations of interest to those in the fields of sexual violence prevention and intervention).Announcements are added daily and organizations are invited to submit volunteer opportunities, job listings, and calls for papers, abstracts and proposals for journals, anthologies and conferences. http://www.nsvrc.org/opportunities

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